Car of the Year 2021: watch the ceremony live at 2PM
Find out which model will win the coveted Car of the Year award later today
The 2021 Car of the Year award winner will be announced later today, chosen from a shortlist of seven nominations by members of the automotive media, including Autocar.
Traditionally, the announcement takes place in Switzerland on the eve of the Geneva motor show. This year, with no show, the announcement will be broadcast online. You can watch the ceremony, which will begin at 2PM GMT, here.
The seven finalists are the Citroën C4, Cupra Formentor, Fiat 500, Land Rover Defender, Skoda Octavia, Toyota Yaris and Volkswagen ID 3.
They were picked from a longlist of 29 candidates by 60 judges representing 23 European countries. Eligible cars had to essentially be new models and available in at least five European countries at the time of voting.
The second-round vote, which decides the single overall winner, has each juror allocate 25 points across the seven cars. They can give no more than 10 points to any one car, can't place two cars in equal first place and must give at least five cars some points. The full result and every single judge's comments about each finalist will be published on the Car of the Year website when the winner is revealed.
Last year's winner was the Peugeot 208, while in 2019, the Jaguar I-Pace won on a countback after it finished in equal first place with the Alpine A110.
Car of the Year is an independent organisation supported by nine automotive publications from nine European countries, which provide all of its funding. It accepts no manufacturer sponsorship, has no tables at awards ceremonies for sale and charges winning or shortlisted car makers nothing for use of its logo.
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*Peugeot 208 wins 2020 European Car of the Year award*